“A Christian's Privilege”
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
INTRO.Many times God's people get discouraged and frustrated in God's service. When that happens service becomes more of a duty, than a privilege. The service we render to the LORD should never be toilsome or burdensome, but it should be a joy to serve the ONE who gave His all for us! It is a privilege to serve the Lord and King Christ Jesus. Someone has said, "Service can never become slavery to one who loves." One who loves his LORD, the brethren, and the lost! We should pray, "Oh, LORD, let us have that kind of Love!"
I want to title the message, "A Christian's Privilege." Psalm 40, which in one of the Messianic Psalms, says in v8, “I delight to do thy will, 0 my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” That was Jesus' motto during all His earthly ministry. His will was to do the WILL OF THE FATHER! It should be ours also, “Not my will, but thine be done.”
In Ecclesiastes 12:13, The SCRIPTURE says, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." Notice the word "duty" is in italics, which means it is not contained in the original manuscript. So that verse should read like this, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole of man."
The word "whole" is our English translation of the Hebrew word "Kowl" which means "all or everything." OH, How True! Fearing God and keeping His commandments are the all or everything of man! For only by loving, revering, and serving Him can we be complete! What a privilege to be an INSTRUMENT useful to the Almighty God! Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:7, "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
I want us to see three things about service. First, the Method of Service. Next, the Mandate For Service. And finally, the Motivation For Service.
(1) The Method Of Service
Text: Ecclesiastes 12:13a—“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole
matter: Fear God, and keep his
commandments.”
*TWO things Mentioned:
- OUR REVERENCE FOR GOD (Deuteronomy 10:12; Psalm 86:11).
- OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO GOD. “Keep his commandments…”. (John14:15, 21, 23; Mark 12:30;1 John 5:2-3).
(2) The Mandate For Service
Text: Ecclesiastes 12:13b—“For this is the whole duty of man.”
*Mandate--A Commandment or written authority to act. Our mandate for
service is borne out of:
- THE MASTER’S GIFT (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
- THE MERCIES OF GOD (Romans 12:1-2).
(3) The Motivation for Service
Text: Ecclesiastes 12:14—“For God shall bring every work into
judgment, with every secret thing,
whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
- THE REVIEW OF OUR SERVICE (2 Corinthians 5:10).
- THE REWARD FOR OUR SERVICE (1 Corinthians 3:9-15).
CLOSING:Psalm 100:2-3 says, "Serve the LORD with gladness: come before
his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is
he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people,
and the sheep of his pasture.”
It is our privilege to serve the LORD God! Is It a privilege for you, or a duty? Do you serve and revere Him out of love, or because it is required?
Each of our prayer's should be this, "I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work."